Coventry children’s workers threaten strike

Children’s workers employed by Coventry Council have threatened to hold a strike over feared job losses. Following a meeting on 29 April with the union Unite, staff in the authority’s children’s and family education service said they were prepared to take industrial action over proposed council budget cuts.

The authority has approved plans to cut the service’s budget by up to £300,000, a move Unite said could put over 22 jobs at risk.

Unite also said that as a result of the cuts the council was trying to move children’s workers into multi-disciplinary social care roles for which they are not qualified.

Unite’s national secretary for community and youth workers Doug Nicholls said: “We are determined that democracy and good sense will prevail. These jobs and services will not go. Skilled professionals and children’s support will not be thrown on the scrap heap along with our manufacturing and public services.”

Although a vote approving the cuts took place in February, a final decision on whether or not to move ahead with them has not yet been taken.

Nicholls said: “The council should rethink or face the immediate consequences of sustained action.”

A council spokesman said: “Like every family and business up and down the country we are facing stark choices on how we spend our budget. We want to make the changes we need with the smallest possible impact on Coventry families and, at the same time, make sure the city is ready to take advantage of the upturn when it comes.”